Hi There,
I have some investment properties in Victoria and am considering investing some money to put solar panels on the roof provided the $0.60 (minimum amount) per KWh of power generated can be paid directly to me (e.g. Not offset against the tenants usage).
Does anyone know if this is possible and legal?
Here are some ruff estimates based on a 1.5KW system but if it is possible I would probably put in bigger systems.
5 hours of sunlight per day x 1.5KW x $0.60 = $4.50 per day (Some companies are paying $0.66 & $0.68 per KWh)
$4.50 per day x 365 = $1642.50 P.A. ($31.50 per week)
Initial outlay for system – Loan for $4000 Approx. where interest will be tax deductible and panel should also attract depreciation.
Hi Cataldop,
In short, i think the answer will be 'no'. In Victoria, the payment is a 'net' payment i.e. any electricity generated by the solar panels will be used in the home first, and any surplus will be fed back into the system at the $0.60 kWh. As far as I know, there's no exceptions.
I too doubt that there is any way around it – you cannot get 2 lots of power lines onto your property. In some states it is possible that the LL is able to be the provider of power to premises eg SA & QLD and onsell the power to the tenants (this is usually done on commercial premises/shopping centes/large unit blocks etc). Doing a one-off tenant would not be worthwhile.
Thanks for the feedback guys.
I called Tru energy yesterday and although the person I spoke to wasn't 100% sure of my question, he was leading towards the "power from solar panels will be offset against usage" as you have both stated.
I know of an electrician that installs the solar panels and he thinks it is possible to get paid directly so I'll have a chat with him next time to see him to see if he's done it yet & how
I am only guessing….
You could get a second power line and meter installed on your property.
Then the solar panels would be hooked up to the second meter. As there is zero usage on the meter you would earn the money from solar.
The problem is you have the monthly access charge for a power connection, I don't know what the numbers are.
Unfortunately you cannot get 2 supplies onto one property – major safety no no.
It seems that if the above feed back is correct that I can only make it work on one of the properties that I own at Loch Sport, on the Gippsland lakes as it is a holiday rental (booked for 6 – 10 weeks per year) and as we are the ones that pay for the electricity not the holiday makers. For the majority of the year when the property is un-tenanted , I estimate that we will end up with up to$1000 a year credit based on the above estimates.
Recently had a 2.09KWh system installed by Nu Energy but it's not offically connected to the grid yet by Tru energy as apparently the paperwork has gone missing.
Based on the inverter data logging, the system has averaged 6.91KWh per day (Quoted an average of 6.76KWh per day) in the last 2 weeks of July (14 days) so I'm guessing that I might get 8 – 9 KWh per day during summer as there will be up to an extra 4 hours of light available.
If this works out corrrectly 7.5KWh per day x $0.66 x 365 days = $1806.75, Cost of installation $5129, ROI=35.2%.
I'II update this topic in a few months time once I get my first bill that includes the net export to grid figures
cataldop wrote:Recently had a 2.09KWh system installed by Nu Energy but it's not offically connected to the grid yet by Tru energy as apparently the paperwork has gone missing.Based on the inverter data logging, the system has averaged 6.91KWh per day (Quoted an average of 6.76KWh per day) in the last 2 weeks of July (14 days) so I'm guessing that I might get 8 – 9 KWh per day during summer as there will be up to an extra 4 hours of light available.
If this works out corrrectly 7.5KWh per day x $0.66 x 365 days = $1806.75, Cost of installation $5129, ROI=35.2%.
I'II update this topic in a few months time once I get my first bill that includes the net export to grid figures
Shouldn’t it be 7.5KWh per day x $0.66 x 90 days = $445.50 for summer months.
Your $1.8k ROI is a bit ambious since you didn’t factor in cloudy/rainy days.
All I have to go by at the moment is 2 weeks data from 15th July to 31st of July for which during that time (It is winter after all) the current average daily output is 6.91KWh, therefore if I was working to your scenario the calculation for summer was actually be more like 9KWh per day x $0.66 x 90 days, so I have tried to be conservative by using 7.5KWh as an average for the whole year which might still seem a bit ambitious but only time will tell
Can you just bump up the rent and do it the normal way (offset against usage?
This a holiday rental, therefore we are the ones already paying for the gas & electricity and so we can't easily raise the rent
well if you are already paying the power bill, what is the problem?
Yours is just a gross feed vs net feed question, I think, which is just going to be a state law (as opposed to all the stuff about second lines etc).
Look at this website, which outlines stuff for VIC:
http://www.energymatters.com.au/government-rebates/feedintariff.php#victoria
Reading through this and not sure what the go is in Victoria but we are splitting our PPOR and renting off the upstairs. As part of this we got 3 phase power to our property going to 2 meters, one meter is for downstairs and the other for upstairs. Each meter is on a separate account which means separate bills as well.
In your situation I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to do this and get the panels hooked up to the second meter, because your usage is zero as it is an investment property that would mean you get paid for the power.
I could be wrong here but would be interested to see what others think.
I was thinking the same as rudra_r.
I look after holiday properties in QLD and have thought about investigating solar panels for my clients. Since they pay the power bill anyway and the properties might only be let 30-70% of the year then the excess can just be fed back into the grid.
Might not recommend it for permanent lets but certainly for holiday lets.
Just my 2c +GST.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
